Wheelspin

A wheelspin, also called a peel-out, occurs when the driver of a motor vehicle accidentally or deliberately spins the wheels of the vehicle on the road before moving off.

When done deliberately this is a lesser form of a burnout, because the intention is not to cause excessive tire wear, but merely to spin the wheels. It is performed by revving the engine high with the clutch depressed while in gear, and then rapidly releasing the clutch pedal (without stalling). This causes the wheels to spin against the road, as they briefly struggle to gain grip, before the car moves as normal. It is a technique that can usually be performed with little practice in most cars. It is easier to wheelspin while steering either to the left or right at the same time as accelerating than if going straight on, as the tires have less grip when turning.

Spinning the wheels is extremely easy on snow and ice, as the drive wheels have severely reduced traction on these surfaces. Another advantage is that snow/ice wears tires little if at all. In fact, spinning the wheels very slightly is involved in rocking a car out of the snow.

Wheelspin can also occur when changing gears while the vehicle is in motion, as the engine delivers the increased torque to the wheels faster than they can grip the road. To date this has only been reported during a speed record attempt in the SSC Ultimate Aero TT supercar.

ee also

*Burnout (vehicle)